Norv Turner Fired as Redskins Coach

Norv Turner, able to produce only a 7-6
record with the most expensive roster in NFL history, was fired
today as coach of the Washington Redskins.

Turner was dismissed by owner Dan Snyder one day after a 9-7
loss to the New York Giants. It was the Redskins’ fourth loss in
five games and third straight at home, and it moved a team with
Super Bowl aspirations precariously close to elimination from the
playoff race.

Passing game coordinator Terry Robiskie was named the coach for
the rest of the season.

Master Offensive Strategist

Turner, hired as a first-time head coach by late owner Jack Kent
Cooke in 1994, was third in seniority among NFL coaches behind
Pittsburgh’s Bill Cowher and Tennesee’s Jeff Fisher. But Turner’s record was only 49-59-1, including 8-21-1 in games decided by three points or fewer.

Turner did not have a come-from-behind victory in the fourth
quarter until his fifth year as coach, and it took six years for
him to get the Redskins to the playoffs. That came last season,
when Washington won the NFC East with a 10-6 record and defeated
Detroit in the first round of the postseason before losing 14-13 at
Tampa Bay.

Turner, 48, earned a reputation as a master offensive strategist
with the Dallas Cowboys, where he was the offensive coordinator for
two Super Bowl teams in the early 1990s. Some of his game plans in
Washington were truly masterful, but his lack of communication
skills and his inability to keep players focused and motivated led
to his downfall.

Then season, the stakes became higher when Snyder spent millions
on some of the biggest names in the sport: Deion Sanders, Bruce
Smith, Jeff George, Mark Carrier, draft picks LaVar Arrington and
Chris Samuels and defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes.

Snyder also signed running back Stephen Davis to the most
lucrative contract in league history and tested the limits of fan
devotion by charging admission to watch practices at training camp.
The total player payroll of salaries and bonuses for the season is
about $100 million.

But immediately it was apparent that the Redskins mirrored the
recent Baltimore Orioles and New York Rangers, two other notable
teams that essentially failed to buy a championship. Ego bruising
among the big names wasn’t a problem; overconfidence was.

Losses to Detroit

A narrow season-opening victory over Carolina was followed by a
losses to Detroit and injury-riddled Dallas. A five-game winning
streak followed, but the only dominant victories came against the
Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars. A loss to lowly Arizona followed
by a victory on the road at Super Bowl champion St. Louis
exemplified the team’s fickle nature, then back-to-back home losses
to Philadelphia and the Giants did Turner in.

Injuries also slowed the offense. Three starters were lost for
the season and several other played hurt, and the reconstituted
offensive line had its worst day Sunday. However, injuries couldn’t
for unforced errors such as dropped balls, missed blocks and bad
snaps.

Turner began coaching as a graduate assistant at Oregon in 1975.
John Robinson hired him as an assistant at USC a year later, and
Robinson also brought Turner into the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams
in 1985.

Robiskie, 46, a former offensive coordinator with the Oakland
Raiders, was one of Turner’s first hires in Washington in 1994. He
is known for a tough-love coaching style from his dealings with
temperamental Redskins receivers Michael Westbrook and Albert
Connell.